Forex - Euro touches session lows after German ZEW misses

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Investing.com - The euro touched session lows against the dollar on Tuesday after a report showed that German economic expectations deteriorated in March, as concerns over the crisis in Ukraine weighed.

EUR/USD hit lows of 1.3880 and was last down 0.14% to 1.3902.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3878, Monday's low and resistance at 1.3946, Monday's high.

The euro slipped after the ZEW Centre for Economic Research reported that its index of German economic sentiment fell to 46.6 this month from February's reading of 55.7. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 53.0.

The report indicated that the economic upswing in Germany is not at risk. The assessment of current economic conditions improved to 51.3 this month from 50.0 in February.

Economic expectations for the euro area also deteriorated this month, the ZEW Centre said, dropping to 61.5 from 68.5 in February, compared to expectations for a decline to 67.3.

The euro was also lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.38% to 141.11.

The yen found support as caution returned to markets ahead of a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid concerns that tensions over the situation in Ukraine could escalate.

President Putin was due to address both houses of the Russian parliament later Tuesday. On Monday President Putin recognized the results of Sunday's referendum in Crimea, which saw a majority of voters chose to split from Ukraine.

The European Union and the U.S. have declared the vote illegal and imposed sanctions.

The dollar was also lower against the yen, as Monday's relief rally faded. USD/JPY touched session lows of 101.33, and was last down 0.31% to 101.43, not far from Friday's trough of 101.19.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.